Window parting bead



March 5, 1935. M s ET AL 1,993,093

WINDOW PARTING BEAD Filed April 2, 1934 52k Will/Ill]! WIIIII/l/l/ Inventors."

Patented Mar. 5, 1935 WINDOW PARTING BEAD Merton L. Fisk, Somerville, and Guy M. Greene,

Stoneham, Mass.

, Application April 2, 1934, Serial No. 718,634

' 8 Claims.

Ourinvention aims to provide an improved window parting bead, made of flexible weatherproof metal adapted to be readily installed, either for new construction work or as a replacement element for the wooden bead now in universal use. In either case the use of customary pulleys and weights may be dispensed with thereby avoiding the expense and difiiculties associated therewith.

One of the objects of our improved bead is to provide an article of this character which. will prevent window rattling by eliminating all lost motion between the sash thereof and its associated guide members and which, at the same time, acts as a weather strip throughout its entire length. Another objectis to eliminate window sticking, so common with wooden beads, and to avoid attending difficulties due to warping and rotting away thereof as our improved bead may be made of thin brass and very inexpensive to manufacture due to its novel design. It will-automatically take up for wear and misalinement of its associated window parts and always keeps the upper sa'sh out against its guide member and the lower sash in snug to its associated weathersealing members and guides. A further object is to provide a parting bead which may be more easily installed and removed without sacrificing weather insulation at the point where the bead must pass from the inside to the outside of a window.

Our invention will be best understood by reference to the following specification and drawing. It is well known to the art'that a parting bead is employed at each side of a window and, as they are identical in construction and operation, it is deemed necessary to illustrate only one,

therefore;

Figure 1 is a representation of the left side of a standard window assembly, as seen from the inside, showing one form of our improved partin'g bead applied thereto.

Fig. -2 is an enlarged vertical tiallyon line 2--2 of Fig. 1. a

3 is a horizontal plan section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

4 is a vertical detail section on line 4-4 of 'Fig. '2, showing "one form of draft insulation at a vital point. i

5 is a detail cross section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, and

section substan- Fig; 6 is a detail cross section of our improved bead-'on line -66 of Fig. 2, but showing the general shape thereof throughout its entire length, before being applied to a window .frame.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, we have shown a conventional window assembly comprising the slidable sash members 1 and 2 having inner cross rails 3 and 4, respectively. Sash 1 has a lower cross rail 5 and sash 2 is provided with an upper cross rail 6, each sash unit being adapted to receive lights of glass '1, in the usual man ner. Each sash has sliding contact with the customary pulley stile 8, (Figs. 2 andBXWhich extends the entire vertical length of the assembly and is provided with a groove 9 which extends PATENT ,OFFICE the length thereof adapted to receive the window parting bead. Upper sash 2 is guided at its outside edge by the, usual outside casing member 10, while lower sash 1 is held in position and guided by the box casing member 11; the usual box casing header is shown at 12. It will be clearly understood that members 10 and 11 are intended to cooperate with the parting bead to provide a weather-seal and, in order to eflicientlyserve as such, there should be no lost motion therebetween.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3 it will be .noted that we have shown the abutting edges of cross rails 3 and 4 formed in the usual manner, as indicated at 13 and 14, to provide a weather-seal when the sashes are in closed position. .It is customary to recess the outer ends of railsmembers 3 and 4 to permit the parting bead to pass from inside. the window to the outside thereof; said recesses being indicated at 15 and 16 respectively. The greatest depth of each recess in from the abutting surfaces 13 and 14 is slightly less than the thickness of the parting bead asclearly shown in Fig. 3. Necessary repairs often require removal of :sash 2 and its associated members from the window frame and this admittedly diflicult task mustbe accomplished by removing casing member 11' whereupon sash 1 may be easily removed inwardly from between the upright pulley stiles. In order to likewise free sash "2, the parting bead must be dislodged and removed from its seat in groove 9, above referred to; this has always been a diflicult operation when the old type of wooden bead was employed, often resulting in a broken bead, 'ora mutilated recess when the work was finished, which destroys the weather-sealing function at this point. Close observation of Fig. 3 will indicate why the foregoing results occur; the fact that a solid, ,or wooden, bead Lis inflexibl'e'and recess 16 is of such necessary proportions, to provide weatherv insulation, makes it nearly impossible to remove said bead,-due to lack of'space. As an alternativesome windows are made with a recess large enough 'to permit the above operation by forcing .of the parts .in- 5 volved, thereby sacrificing a quiet assembly and weather insulation as well.

It will be obvious that the foregoing difficulties can be eliminated by the use of a flexible parting bead wherein the side walls thereof may be squeezed together at the outer edge to permit easy withdrawal of the bead, first from recess 16 and then from groove 9. Our improved parting bead may be formed from a single piece of thin ribbon stock, such as spring brass, cut to any suitable length depending upon the particular window dimensions, but preferably of the same length as the standard wooden bead; however,- the overall thickness of our finished bead, throughout its area of contact with the sashes 1 and 2, may

vary at different points, which is one of the de-- sired characteristics thereof. .That portionof the bead which is in contact with the side walls of groove 9 may be of a dimension to obtain a snug fit therein, the width ofthe portion being similar to that of the wooden ones in common use.

Fig. 6 illustrates the preferred form, in cross section, of our improved parting bead before the same has been applied to a window frame. The flat strip of metal may be acted upon, as by a press, to give it a U shaped contour having a narrow back wall, or side, 17 adapted to seat at the bottom of groove 9 in the pulley stile. The side members 18 and 190i the bead may be arranged at right angles to side 1'7, as indicated at 20, and substantially straight for a distance slightly greater than the depth of groove 9, from which point we prefer to gradually curve them outward, as shown, thereby requiring pressure to force them into a straight line with the portions 20. The outer ends of side members 18 and 19 may be flanged, as shown at 21, to provide longitudinal rigidity for the bead and present a finished edge, it being understood that the inneredges of said flanges are spaced apart, when in working position, as shown in Fig. 2 so as not to prevent free flexing movement of the side members. It

. will be clear that these flanges might be formed to overlap each other and thereby present a closed edge without impeding the free movement of the side walls, but we prefer the open edge because no trap is formed therein to retain snow and ice. Instead of employing flanges, as shown,-we may fold the edge over upon itself and obtain a friction bead portion adapted to contact the sashes.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate one method of closing the open interior of the bead at one point to prevent outdoor atmosphere from entering the room in a direction indicated by the arrows. It should be mentioned that this particular pointhas always presented an insulation problem, when solid beads are used, due to the fact that close fitting dimensions cannot be maintained for the reasons previously mentioned. For this purpose, we prefer to employ a partition forming unit of the same thin material which may be stamped out in one piece and pressed into the form shown, presentingside members 22 and 23, the former having an elongated narrow portion 24 adapted to be bent at right angles thereto and extended to form a springtension member, 25, which tends to press outwardly againstthe bottoms of recesses 15 and 16 in sash members 1 and 2, respectively, when the latter are in window closed position. The outer end of member 25 may be suitably shaped, as shown at 26, for sliding contact with the inner face of wall 1'7 of the bead.

The side member 23 (Fig. 5) has an inturned flange 27 arranged to overlap the narrow space between the outer edge of member 24 and said; side member, thereby preventing the passage of air at that point. The side members 22 and 23 are preferably formed integral with a narrow back-wall 27' having a short tab portion 28 adapted to be folded against and fixedly attached to the adjacent end of member 24, as shown in Fig. 4. It will be clear that this one piece unit, when formed as above described, may easily be positioned between the bead side members, 18 and 19, at the point where said bead passes through recesses 15 and 16 in the cross rails, already referred to. The completed insulation unit may be securedto the bead in any suitable manner such, for example, as by spot welding, which is indicated at 29, whereby the side members 22, 23 and theback-wall 27' thereof become attached to portions 18, 19 and 17, respectively, of the parting bead. This arrangement provides an airtight partition comprising the flexible wall presented by spring member 25 which automatically seats itself against the inner walls of recesses 15 and 16, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. It should'b'e.

and 19, which tend to spread outwardly at all times, thereby forming a weather seal against the sidesof said recesses.

Referring again to Fig. 2, it will be seen that our improved bead presents a pair of sash contacting members, of which 18 tends to force the lower sash l inwardly against its retaining member 11 at all times, thereby maintaining a tight fit and suilicient frictional contact therewith to cause the sash to remain at any desired position within its limit of travel. The other member, 19, tends to force sash 2 outwardly against its retaining member 10 at all times,likewise maintaining a tight fit therebetween and also creatingsufiicient friction to hold said sash in any desired position, thereby eliminating the use of cords, pulleys and weights in either case. The flexing latitude of members 18 and 19 should be sufiicient to obtain the above described results in spite of the fact that there may be misalinement of the various guide members relative to the sashes.

This type of parting bead may be secured within the groove 9 in any suitable manner but we prefer to employ the novel method illustrated in-Fig. 2 which comprises an elongated rod 30 having an offset portion at the center adapted to be'connected to wall 17 of the bead, as by a strap member 31. The outer ends of this rod may be bent at right angles thereto, and in opposite directions, to form pointed brads 32, each being arranged in line with an aperture in the side wall of the bead. This arrangement provides a quick and eflicient manner of fastening the bead within groove 9 and requires the use of a screwdriver only, which may be inserted outside the right angle bend, adjacent the bead side wall, given a twist, thereby forcing the bradporti-on into the side wall of said groove. The reverse operation may be accomplished by inserting the blade at the inner side of the bend and given a twist, whichwill withdraw the brad from contact with the groove wall. The upper end of the bead may be held in position by the box casing header 12, in the usual manner.

A parting bead of this design, constructed of spring brass, or other weather-proof material, will always maintain its original accurate fitting, will automatically adjust itself to changing shapes and misalinement of associated wooden elements,

is much easier to remove and replace, will eliminate window rattling and may be produced at a minimum cost. It will be understood, of course, that the thickness of material used has necessarily been exaggerated for purposes of illustration, as the actual thickness thereof is preferably about .010 of an inch.

We claim:

1. A resilient parting bead having three closed sides and an open side, one of said closed sides being adapted to fit the bottom of a bead supporting groove, an air-stop element arranged to close the interior of the bead at a given point by cooperating with a sash part, said element comprising a resilient metallic element permanently'at-' tached to at least one of said closed sides.

2. In a window frame assembly comprising a vertically slidable sash unit having a non-yielding guide member arranged to contact one side thereof, in combination, a hollowparting beadhaving a back wall, a flexible brad member carried by the back wall and operable to secure the bead within a supporting groove, and at least one resilient flange member formed integral with the back wall but arranged for frictional engagement with only one side of the sash unit, the resilient effort of the flange member being sufficient to press the sash unit into frictional engagement with the non-yielding guide member to a degree which will barely overcome gravity and maintain the unit in any desired position, whereby window weights may be dispensed with.

3. A hollow metallic parting bead having a perforated groove-engaging portion and resilient sash engaging members, said members being formed with a substantial portion thereof arranged in parallel relationship, said perforations being arranged to receive bead attaching elements in a manner to permit free flexing of each sash engaging member from a point near the bottom of a supporting groove.

4. A hollow metallic parting bead adapted to snugly fit a parting groove and having a resilient metallic air-stop member fixedly connected to the bead interior arranged to close the same at a given point by engagement with a movable sash part.

5. In combination, a window stile having a parting bead groove, a pair of window sashes slidably associated with the stile, each of said sasheshaving a side member presenting an exposed unbroken surface, said surface lying, in approximately a common vertical plane with the groove side-wall, and a resilient metallic parting bead comprising a back portion adapted to be secured to and maintained at the bottom of said groove to prevent lateral displacement thereof, said back portion having angularly extended members arranged for sliding frictional engagement with only the said unbroken surface of each sash so as not to prevent lateral movement thereof relative to said members.

6. In combination, a pair of slidably mounted window sashes each having a side member presenting an unbroken surface facing the other in spaced apart relationship, the maximum amount of said spacing being a fixed dimension, and a resilient parting bead element arranged to be rigidly connected to the window stile and cooperate with the'sashes to maintain said maximum spacing thereof by contact only with said unbroken surfaces, whereby necessary lateral movement of either sash relative to the stile is permitted to take place at all times.

7. A resilient parting bead arranged to be fixedly secured to a supporting-stile groove to prevent lateral movement thereof relative to the stile, said bead having a pair of resilient flange members each arranged for frictional engagement with single respective edges of associated sash units, and means for securing the bead to said stile in a manner not to prevent flexing of thesaidresilient flange members from a point atthebottom of said groove.

8. A resilient parting bead arranged to be fixedly secured to a supporting-stile groove to prevent lateral movement thereof relative to the stile, said bead comprising a back wall and a pair of oppo- .sitely disposed sash-contacting members formed integral therewith, said sash-contacting members being arranged to project outwardly from the back wall in the same direction and approximately parallel to each other for a distance substantially equal to the groove depth then continuously extended in the same general direction but in flared apart relationship to flatly engage a sash part.

MERTON L. FISK. GUY M. GREENE. 

